All About Referees And Why They're Necessary In Sports
A referee is the person often always being cursed by sports fanatics for a bad call during a sports event. They are also often referred to as umpires, judges, arbiters, arbitrators, linesmen, timekeeper, or touch judge. But who really are referees and are they really needed in sports activities?
The term "referee", which originated in association football, is defined by the Merriam Dictionary as "a sports official usually having final authority in administering a game". With total honesty, integrity, courage, fairness, and common sense, referees act as a judicial figure enforcing the adopted rules of an organized sport activity. They also perform a host of other duties during the course of their work such as checking the condition of the field and mediating arguments between players.
Many sports events such as basketball, cricket, fencing, mixed martial arts, and tennis employ the services of a referee to ensure their success. Boxing matches also have a referee who implements the rules during a fight, decide when to stop the game based from the condition of the players, starts and stops the count when a player is down, and provide general instructions to the players. These so-called "judges" are also present in a football game where they provide general supervision and have final authority on all rulings.
The fact that the athletic world is encumbered with numerous occurrences such as infractions, fouls, and offenses is the primary reason cited for the necessity of referees. They also work to analyze the entirety of circumstances and make decisions on whether the game must stop or continue. Also, as was stated earlier, these people not only monitor rule violations, they also ensure the adequacy of the equipment that are to be used on a given sports event. Moreover, most referees are also tasked to review to the viewing public the game play and explain the penalties.
However, with the advancements in technology, many ask if referees are still necessary. In tennis for example, computer systems are being used as referees identifying infractions and implementing rules during a match. So far, these electronic devices have worked successfully in performing their assigned tasks, at the same time, eliminating the biases and mistakes of human referees. Despite that, many sports analysts still believe that many contact sports such as boxing still have real time infractions such as tripping and holding rules that may only be identified by a well-trained human referee.
As was aforementioned, the job description of a referee is not limited to blowing their whistle to call a foul but also includes a host of other activities. As such, becoming a professional referee requires not only learning as much as possible about the sport activity but it also necessitates one to take classes in communication, management, leadership, and motivation. He should also learn to display courage, character, and consistency while remaining cool, calm, and collected.
As discusses, one of the factors that contributes to the success of a sports event is the presence of a well-trained referee. This is manifested by the number of successful athletic performed in various countries worldwide.
The term "referee", which originated in association football, is defined by the Merriam Dictionary as "a sports official usually having final authority in administering a game". With total honesty, integrity, courage, fairness, and common sense, referees act as a judicial figure enforcing the adopted rules of an organized sport activity. They also perform a host of other duties during the course of their work such as checking the condition of the field and mediating arguments between players.
Many sports events such as basketball, cricket, fencing, mixed martial arts, and tennis employ the services of a referee to ensure their success. Boxing matches also have a referee who implements the rules during a fight, decide when to stop the game based from the condition of the players, starts and stops the count when a player is down, and provide general instructions to the players. These so-called "judges" are also present in a football game where they provide general supervision and have final authority on all rulings.
The fact that the athletic world is encumbered with numerous occurrences such as infractions, fouls, and offenses is the primary reason cited for the necessity of referees. They also work to analyze the entirety of circumstances and make decisions on whether the game must stop or continue. Also, as was stated earlier, these people not only monitor rule violations, they also ensure the adequacy of the equipment that are to be used on a given sports event. Moreover, most referees are also tasked to review to the viewing public the game play and explain the penalties.
However, with the advancements in technology, many ask if referees are still necessary. In tennis for example, computer systems are being used as referees identifying infractions and implementing rules during a match. So far, these electronic devices have worked successfully in performing their assigned tasks, at the same time, eliminating the biases and mistakes of human referees. Despite that, many sports analysts still believe that many contact sports such as boxing still have real time infractions such as tripping and holding rules that may only be identified by a well-trained human referee.
As was aforementioned, the job description of a referee is not limited to blowing their whistle to call a foul but also includes a host of other activities. As such, becoming a professional referee requires not only learning as much as possible about the sport activity but it also necessitates one to take classes in communication, management, leadership, and motivation. He should also learn to display courage, character, and consistency while remaining cool, calm, and collected.
As discusses, one of the factors that contributes to the success of a sports event is the presence of a well-trained referee. This is manifested by the number of successful athletic performed in various countries worldwide.
About the Author:
Russell Collins is a "schiedsrichter" (German term for "referee") for a local basketball team in small town in Germany. He also teaches physical education at a grade school in the same region.